Is it Jan 5th yet?

Oh my goodness. Life is crazy around here. Lily is home from school for two weeks. It's only the first day and we are already going insane. Terrible two's are definitely named that for a very good reason. Lily is having a very hard time sleeping, ever since we went away for Thanksgiving. That's a whole other blog...maybe I should start from the beginning to catch you up...

We went to St. Augustine, FL for Thanksgiving week this year. I got a small bonus at work, and we decided to use it to get away for a week. We rented a condo at the beach and looked forward to our vacation for a good two months. It was all we could think about (or stress about). We had to buy a big car-top carrier to take all the extra stuff for the babes. Two small children require a LOT of stuff to stay comfortable. I felt like we took our whole house with us! Anyways, the car ride there was actually not as bad as I anticipated. The first night went fairly smoothly. Got the kids to bed around 9pm and slept until about 6:30am. Not too shabby. Unfortunately, that was to be the best night of the following eight days/nights. The second night, Lily refused to sleep in the bedroom deemed as hers. Luke was an angel and slept with no problems at all, so this blog posting doesn't pertain to my angel! However, Lily is a different story. I don't know if the room itself scared her, or if she just realized she had more power outside of her own home. Regardless, we spent much of the evening putting her back in bed. Hence has been our life ever since. We finally wised up and moved the pack-and-play crib into our room and she slept there without too much complaining. We all had to go to bed at 9pm, but we were wiped out anyways! The weather was rainy and cold, so that put a damper on our being at the beach. We still managed to get out on the sand and stick our toes in the water every day. Lily gathered a ton of seashells and really enjoyed the beach. We had Thanksgiving dinner at the Sanalila's house in Jax, which was a feast. Luke watched his cousin Bella crawling and cruising - said to himself "I can do that" and started crawling at the beachhouse! Now, he's an old pro. All in all, it was an exhausting vacation, but I would probably do it again if I could. Yes, I had to get a massage when I got home to work all the kinks and knots out of my shoulders, but we're creating memories, people!! :)

Next is Lily's Christmas Party at school. Oh my, let me just say that a working mother should never volunteer for something that is meant for a stay-home Mom! Lily's teacher sent home a note asking for parent volunteers, so excitedly I raised my hand. Traditionally I love to do this kind of stuff - I mean, I love to plan Lily and Luke's birthday parties. However, this was out of my league. I needed a story, a snack and a craft. Now, I could handle the story (non-Secular, of course - which is cool because LifeWay is my new favorite store), I could even handle the snacks (organized and to be sent in from 5 different students - that was a minor challenge). But crafty I am NOT. I had to think really hard for a non-Secular craft (ie I searched the internet) and came up with bejeweled crowns (as in The Three Wise Men). I looked all over town for gold crowns, finally found some at Party City. Had to drive 20 miles to get them, but hey, at least I found them. Then came the jewels. I wanted self-sticking jewels so we wouldn't have to wait for the glue to dry. This party was held on the last day of school before the Christmas break. I drove to every craft store I knew and no one carries self-stick jewels (that are affordable anyways). So, out came the Elmer's glue. Regardless, I showed up on Thursday morning with my coffee in hand and all the necessary decorations, snacks, story and craft. The kids were cute, they enjoyed making cupcakes and singing Happy Birthday Jesus. They had fun making jeweled crowns like the Wise Men and we all had a good time. The bottom line is that my daughter had a good time with Mommy at school for a day, so it's all good!

Thursday night Lily had her first Christmas show. She was to sit center-stage because the music teacher said she sings the loudest in class! We were all so excited. Grammy, Grampy, Uncle Steve and even Tia Sana arrived to witness our shining star. The two-year-olds came on stage and Lily was right in the middle. The music started, and we were eagerly watching with cameras and video in hand. And, she wouldn't open her mouth. Not one word. Ms. Tami tried to coax her by sitting her on her lap, but that didn't help one bit. Lily had stage-fright! Oh well, guess there's always next year. That night, she spent the night with Grammy and Grampy. They said she sang at the top of her lungs all the songs in the show on the way to their house in the car. Of course she did...of course she did. Where's the video camera then?!

Luke is totally cruising now, by the way. He's mastered crawling, and now he's got an early start on pulling himself up on things, and transferring himself from item to item. He likes to walk behind the same walker that Lily used - a little grocery cart. It's adorable! He's so proud of himself. He's going to be walking before his first birthday, I can feel it!

Finally, Our Christmas decorations have made it up. It went in very slow stages this year. Got the tree on my birthday, got the lights on the tree about 5 days later, finally got ornaments on the tree just last week. It's tough to manage a house with two little ones, especially when it seems someone is always sick. Right now, the bug has Mommy and Lukey. But last week it was Daddy, and before that was Lily. It's just never-ending. Getting extra rest is pretty much impossible, so it takes us even longer to get over being ill.

Well, I guess I'll end this post by saying that regardless of all the complaining in the above statements, I still love my family and my life with all of my heart. If it were any easier, it wouldn't be as much fun to share our stories with all of you! :) Merry Christmas!!

If your happy and you know it

Luke is hilarious. If you say "no", he shakes his head back and forth. If you say "yeah!" he starts clapping his hands. During tonight's bath, he found a toy that just cracked him up! He was in full belly laugh while pulling this suction toy off the tub wall. Mom would put it back on, and he would pull it back off and practically fall over laughing! It was the best sound in the world. Lily is very funny and cute as well. She was supposed to be napping this afternoon, but when I walked by her room, I heard her talking. No, actually, she was singing! She learned this "Puppies, Puppies Everywhere" song at preschool and she was singing it the whole way through several times in a row. I stopped to listen to her with a huge smile on my face. Two incredibly happy children - one laughing and one singing...does life get any better than this?!

Something in common

Just another dull work day for Mom. Working in Macon for the day, I needed a break. On the way home I see a Chick-Fil-A. Something about the cows called to me. I pulled into the parking lot, strategically parked the car so I wouldn't be too obvious. I then climbed into the back seat of my own minivan and proceeded to pump four ounces of breastmilk. I guess the cows and I have something in common. Before getting back on the road to my family, I ordered a nice chicken sandwich and a milkshake to go. I doubt many of my co-workers could say they had such a "productive" day :)

Thank you, Miss Lady!

Lily had her flu shot today. I was prepared for both of us to be crying. We had to get it at CVS this year because her pediatrician is still out of the vaccine for her age group. We got there and were fifth in line, so I knew we'd be waiting a good 20 min at least. We bought some gummy worms at the suggestion of a friend, which turned out to be a lifesaving idea. We were having fun, playing with our gummies, pretending they were Mommies and babies. The nurse called our name, and we headed in the sterile room. The nurse had already given Alfred and me our flu shots, so she knew our little family by now. I kept Lily focused on the gummy worm family while the nurse got the needle ready. While we were playing, the nurse just quickly lifted Lily's shorts on her right leg, cleaned it quickly, and like lightening she got that needle in and out! Lily didn't even know what happened. She looked at the nurse kinda funny, like, what are you doing with my leg, lady? But never a peep, never a hint of hurt, not a sob of sadness. She just went back to eating her gummy worms! As we're leaving, she says "Thank you, Miss Lady!" and off we went. What a truly wonderful experience - thanks Lady Nurse at CVS! :)

I can see clearly now the rain is gone

Oh my, what a hectic morning. Thunder and lightning set the tone and backdrop for a frantic scene. Lily and Luke got up at 7am as usual. Lily didn't want to drink her milk. Finally got her dressed for school and she took a huge poop in her diaper...undress the darling toddler, new diaper, re-dress the darling toddler. Baby Luke screaming a lovely high-pitched lullaby for us as he lays on his back awaiting his Mother's embrace. I just want my cup of coffee. Really, it's that simple for me in the morning. Finally get Daddy and Lily on their way, then Luke is unhappy. Will there ever be peace and quiet in this house? Now it's 10am, Lily is at school, Luke is sleeping, I'm on my second cup of coffee, the rain has stopped and the sun is shining through the clouds. How poetic. Now, bring it on! I'm finally ready to face the day! A friend of mine wrote on his facebook page that his AC went out in his car. Ok, he complained a little, but then he said some things that really put life into perspective for me. He said he was thankful to have a car that he could drive, and thankful that he had the money and ability to repair it. Now, there's a positive thinker! Thanks for the morning cup of mojo, buddy!

First Day of PreSchool

Lily went to her first official day of Preschool today. We took her in at 9am and had a parent meeting for an hour. On our way back to her classroom, we saw her on the playground...just kicking around in a circle, not really doing much of anything. I felt so bad for her! She looked lonely. The teacher came over and took her hand, and she seemed pleased. We didn't let her see us, of course, but we watched her walk back to her classroom. Such a cutie. When I was allowed in to pick her up, she screamed "Mommy" with a huge smile, ran over to me, jumped up and gave me a huge hug and kiss right on the lips. Yummy! Seriously brought tears to my eyes. She was so happy to see me again, that makes a Mommy feel good. The teacher said she didn't want to color today, so Lily brought home a plain black and white uncolored picture of an apple. Kinda pathetic, really. I told her she smelled sweet, like chocolate. She said she wanted more "lemons"...luckily I already knew the teacher had given her "M&M's" so I knew what she meant! You certainly don't want to mistake that meaning :). After Daddy demanded his own royal welcome, off we went back to the car. She wanted to hold my hand in the car on the way home, how sweet is that! So, I offered her the next best thing...a Lilypop (aka lollipop). She was in heaven again. Daddy took her to the park, then to Publix to get a balloon. She came skipping into the house, happy as can be. To top it all off, she went poop on the potty like a big kid, and was so excited about her new stamp and sticker! Wow, all that before naptime! I'm tired just thinking about what tomorrow will bring :)

Shopping with Lily

Mommy and daughter went shopping yesterday after work. First stop, pet store. Needed dog food and cat food (which cost a small fortune these days), but got a whole lot of memories for free :). Lily is a riot. She was adoring the kittens for a good while. Then we went to actually get the food we came in for, and she found the fish tanks. She literally screamed at me "Mommy! I found the fishes!!" and took off running. Then we visited the hamsters and gerbils, and finally the birds. She even got to pet a puppy as we waiting in the check-out line. Who knew the pet store could be like visiting the zoo?! We even took home a couple of mice (furry plastic ones) that she lovingly shoved into her pockets. Next stop, grocery store. Lily declared that she didn't need to ride in the cart - she was fully capable of walking. I told her that's fine, as long as she listens to Mommy. Well, the stores are gearing up for Halloween and they had this life-size monster in the first aisle that talked as we walked by. She jumped half-way up my pant-leg, screaming, and immediately wanted in the cart for the duration of our shopping trip. Hmmm...of course I was laughing to tears, but at least she got in the cart! :). Then, as we were checking out, the cashier was much too busy talking with a colleague to provide us with courteous service. She handed me my receipt, so I said Thank You. The cashier continued her conversation with her friend, and Lily said "Mommy, she didn't say You're Welcome!". I said I know, honey, she's very rude - you should always say You're Welcome when someone says Thank You! Of course, while cute, this simply reminds me of just how observant young minds really are and that I better watch my mouth! :)

Halfway there

Our "Silly-Lily-Buggy" is almost potty trained! She's waking up with a dry diaper and going pee-pee on the potty every morning, after naps, and just before bed. She's telling us when she has to go during the day (about 50% of the time). She's pooped on the potty a few times already, but also continues to go in her diaper. I'm waiting for a few successful dry days in a row, then it will be time to shop for Big Girl Panties! She is definately ready and excited about getting her "reward" (aka sticker) after each successful trip to the bathroom. Geez, I don't remember when going to the bathroom was so much fun! However, this revelation has just made me realize that soon it will be time to move her from a crib to a toddler bed, and I'm not looking forward to the late-nite "Lily-visits"...or my tears of realizing my little girl is growing up. Thank God I have Luke to remind me of the joys and struggles of the baby stage :) Speaking of Luke, he's 7 months old already and enjoying solid foods now. Not such a fan of the green veggies, but certainly likes his carrots and sweet potato, and of course, all the fruits. Getting his top two teeth now, so pretty soon his smile will look completely different! He's rolling over like a champ, getting ready to crawl any day now. I bet he'll be cruising by Christmas. So much for both kids to explore and discover. What an exciting time!

Potty time!

Lily went pee pee on the potty twice today! First time was at Grammy's house. She was changing her diaper but noticed it was still dry, and Lily said "Grammy, I have to use the potty" so they raced over to the potty. Lily has learned a little modesty apparently and wanted the door closed, so Grammy patiently waited as Lily sat on the potty. When Grammy came back in, Lily was tinkling! Oh, how proud are we. Then, just before bedtime, Daddy was changing her and it was dry again, so she wanted to use the potty and went tinkling again! Oh, please let this be the start of a beautiful new habit! :) I would love to have only ONE kid in diapers in this house. I know it's a long road, but you gotta start one step at a time. We are so proud! The best part is, we really haven't been pushing her that much. Grandma S got her a doll that goes pee-pee that she likes to play with and we read potty books and watch potty shows, but no real pressure to "perform". She's learning this desire all on her own! :)

Miami

I went to Miami for a sales meeting for work this past week. We stayed at this posh revitalized hotel where the richy-rich apparently visit. Besides not having a minute to myself, the meeting went pretty well. I had to ship breastmilk home three times, so that was a joy. This country really should have a full year of maternity leave. This crappy three-month jaunt just isn't long enough. If the majority of my baby's food source is still coming from my boobs, I shouldn't have to leave him! Anyways, it all worked out, despite the cosmic pull to throw in all the curveballs. FYI - shipping with dry ice isn't as easy as it could or should be. So, the week concluded with a party at the hottest club in Miami. My company rented the place out, so it was kinda weird to see all of my colleagues booty-dancing with each other. I was only there for about 15 minutes...when they started to play "Sweet Home Alabama" and the crowd was singing along, I decided it was time for me to find something else to do. I'm guessing that's not the normal playlist for the hottest club in Miami, so I can only imagine what the DJ was thinking when he got that playlist...
When I got home, Lily came running down the stairs screaming "Mommy I LOVE YOU" and then promptly fell on her knees...she was fine but I sure cried. :) Gosh, it's so hard to be away from these little ones. I'm sure Luke grew another inch taller while I was away. There's no place like home.

Luke 6 month check up

Luke had his 6-month check up and got the all-clear. The doc actually said I should be nursing him more, which is strange because a different doc said to feed him less just three months ago. He's definitely not hurting for food, so I think he's perfectly healthy. He eats when he's hungry and lets me know when he's full, so I don't think I can do much better than that! He's so happy and smiley all the time, I think I would know if he was starving... :) Anyways, he got a few more vaccinations which is always harder on me than him. I actually teared up this time, it just kills me to see him in pain. That high-pitched squeal is just terrifying. But a little boob action and he's all calmed down. Thank goodness for nursing - it's the wonderdrug. Now we are well into teething. Luke is getting his top teeth. The gums are all purple and swollen. Last night he woke up at 10pm screaming like crazy. He's got a runny nose now too, but that's typical with teething. Poor little guy. Took about 20 minutes to calm him down and get him back to sleepyland. Keeping him loaded up on Tylenol seems to help quite a bit. He's loving his solid foods now - just tried bananas this morning and he's all about it. My little man is growing up!

Pee Pee on the Potty!

Lily went pee pee on the potty! Just a few drops, but you gotta start somewhere. That was about two weeks ago now, since then we haven't seen much interest in the potty. Lily starts school again in early Sept, so hopefully seeing all the kiddies going to the potty will invigorate those urges!

Lily's Letter

A few weeks ago, Lily got her first piece of real mail. It was a hand-created card from a teen helper at the Preschool. Lily's friend Jesse sent her a beautiful hand-crafted card with a sweet personal note inside. It makes me all warm and fuzzy inside just thinking about it.

Lily-Go-Round and Round

Lily loves the merry-go-round at the mall. What kid doesn't? But she's been pretty skeptical of the horses...she's more of a chariot girl. However, this past weekend changed all that. She got up the courage and nerve, and rode the horse for the first time! and second, and third, and...well, you get the picture. The lady in the ticket booth loved our family for some odd reason (well, we do have super-cute kids...) and gave us a free ride for Luke. So Mommy, Daddy and Lukey went on the merry-go-round...Lily stayed behind with Grammy. However that set Lily into a frenzy because once you have two kids, you must do the same things for both. So then she needed to ride again, and breaking all the rules, the ticket lady actually passed her on to the merry-go-round, while moving, to Alfred's loving arms. Ah, peace again. On Monday, Alfred took Lily to another mall and they too had a merry-go-round. The ticket lady there fell in love with Lily too and Lily got a free ride and a pink punch-balloon! What I wouldn't give for my life to be that simple again...oh wait, I guess it is! :)

PreSchool Summer Camp ends

Lily was enrolled in a five week session of summer camp. It's the same school and teachers she will be involved with in the fall, so we thought it would be the perfect opportunity to ease her into the process of going to school. She LOVED it. We dropped her off at 9am on Tues and Wed, picked her back up after lunch at 1pm. She pretty much never ate her lunch there, too much to do, I'm sure. I wish I had that problem - I NEVER forget to eat :). So she would munch in the car on the way home, which was cool too. She always came home in a really good mood, so you could tell she enjoyed it. The teacher had nice things to say about her as well, although calling her "the calm in our sometimes stormy day" is probably exactly the opposite of how she is with us at home! Oh well, at least they like her! School starts up again on Sept 9th, when she'll be going Mon-Thurs from 9am-12pm (probably still eating lunch in the van!). That will be a much needed break for Dear Ol' Dad who has been doing great at keeping her busy and worn out this summer. Luke has enjoyed his quiet time as well...but then again, I suppose he's used to living with a noisy toddler! :) He loves Lily so much - you can see it in his eyes. When she runs and laughs, he gets so excited, you can tell he can't wait to join in!

Fourth of July

Our Fourth of July holiday weekend was more like a holiday WEEK. The entire Sanalila clan was at our house starting on Tuesday night, including baby Isabella! It was awesome to see everyone and especially have all the grandkids in the same room together. Lily was loving on Baby Bella - it was so cute! She kept tickling her toes and giving her kisses. What a sweet sight. Everyone had a good time - we kept Rey super-busy with household projects. The cooking was amazing and the fireworks were fun too! Our neighbors went to the Carolina's and purchased enough fireworks for the whole block. We watched a few hours worth, then around 10pm Lily had enough and was ready for bed. Typically her bedtime is 8pm, but she was having such a good time and being very good, we just let her stay up until she got tired. She did sparklers and those little pop-em's with her friend Val and the boys across the street. Lots of fun - can't wait for Luke to be this age! Next year is going to be a BLAST!

Father's Day at the Zoo

We took Lily and Luke to the Atlanta Zoo on Sunday for Father's Day. We met up with my folks as soon as the zoo opened, because it was going to be a scorcher. It was 100 degrees (literally, our van told us so). The Atlanta Zoo doesn't have many animals, so it didn't take long to see them all...but I think Lily had a good time. Luke was pretty uncomfortable. It's hard for a baby because when they sweat, you can't really give them water, so I just kept giving him more boob. Luckily there was a lot of natural shade. It's actually a nice zoo, very walkable and extremely kid-friendly, just a little small for the $20 cover charge. Oh well, it's not something you do every day, and it was fun to see Lily's reaction to live animals. We'd been practicing the difference between a lion and a tiger, a zebra and a giraffe. I think she got a kick out of seeing the elephants too. The pandas were active, so that was fun for her. Taking her out to a place like that is just a small snippit of what we can look forward to when visiting Disney World next year!